Proven tips for scaling up your startup

Eqvista | Cap Table & Valuations
7 min readMay 13, 2022

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Proven tips for scaling up your startup

Do you have a startup that has been successfully launched and appears to be performing well in its targeted market?

If so, you may want to consider increasing the size of your project. However, there are a few things you need to know, such as: what is the scalability of your startup? Is your startup ready to scale-up along with some startup scale-up strategy?

A startup’s scalability can be defined as the company’s capacity to develop and expand its offerings to a larger customer base without sacrificing its delivery performance or revenue creation. To put it another way, you’d be taking on a lot more work while keeping all of the other aspects of your startup the same.

What does ‘scaling a business’ mean?

Scaling a firm is not associated with growth. The importance of scale-up in a startup implies that you can accommodate growth in sales, work, or productivity in a cost-effective and reasonable manner. Your business can grow without incurring additional costs (e.g., staff turnover due to excessive workloads or a product that cannot be manufactured quickly enough to meet demand).

So, how would you scale-up and what are the keys and tips to prepare a scaleup strategy?

Learn how to sustainably scale-up a business for steady growth and massive success.

Take a step back and think about the notions of what made you start and grow a business, it would eventually lead you to scale-up a business. It’s why you started your business, and it’s probably why you’re still in business today. The only way you can keep your company profitable and expand your market share is to expand it. Business expansion is often referred to as “hockey stick growth,” in which linear growth is initially observed, but revenue increases dramatically after the company reaches an inflection point. To begin with:

Develop a business map

Have you ever considered creating a business map instead of a business plan? Scaling a business and achieving its objectives can be made easier with the use of business maps. How do you know what your business actually is? In the first place, why did you decide to enter this line of work?

Business maps motivate and challenge you to reflect on where you came from, what you set out to do when you started this firm, and where you want it to go in the future. With this kind of paperwork, you’ll have a handy reference when things go tough as you learn how to scale-up a business.

Enhance your product or service offering

Many business owners neglect the necessity to ensure the best quality product or service while pursuing rapid growth. They often think they can fix the issue if they have a greater audience or exposure. It’s preferable to fix issues today than to wait until you’re scaling a business. That’s why learning to scale-up a firm is essential before expanding. It’s never too early to start listening to your customers, finding problems, and improving your products and services to meet their demands. Focusing on high-quality products or services will help you overcome several growth obstacles.

As a SERVICE PROVIDER, you want to expand your client base. In contrast, service-based enterprises can be more difficult to scale-up. After all, selling a service requires nurturing and building long-term relationships with customers, and more sales mean more clients to care for.

Set a milestone and have a view on valuation

To do this properly, you must link the capital to each stage of your company’s growth. Begin by estimating your cash flow. Then work backward to set milestones and a schedule for achieving them. This should offer you a budgeted plan for the future and help you to plan for fundraising.

A key is to see valuation as an increasing number. Instead, when talking to investors or board members, emphasize how risk affects your valuation over time.

Concentrate on risk reducers

Risk reducers indicate growth. Anything a company does to reduce risk for investors or customers. For example, give potential investors a list of recent consumers who can be reached.

Similarly, share your usage growth over time. This shows your customers value your product and desire to use it more. Client success demonstrates increased market potential, reducing investor risk.

Think Big, Think Long-Term, and Plan Using a Smart Strategy

Because only great visionaries in the past have brought about lasting changes in the corporate landscape, don’t be scared to dream big and then even greater. Prepare your five-year strategy with an open mind and an eye toward the future, keeping an eye out for fresh opportunities to grow. Be careful, though.

You always double-check your shoelaces before a race, right? If you start a race without sufficient preparation, even though you may gain a little advantage, you still run the risk of tripping and landing on your face. So, Know exactly where you are today in order to measure how far and how fast you can go.

Make the most of what you’ve got!

Everything must be optimized before you begin to grow your startup. Everything — from your staff, products, services, and financial resources, and even the amount of caffeine in your office coffee — is okay. Start with what you’ve got to offer. How happy are your clients with the services you provide? Will you be able to meet the demand if you increase production?

You may not be able to improve your products or services if you don’t focus on streamlining all of your business procedures.

Make your team the best by maximizing the potential of each team member and ensuring effective communication amongst the many teams that operate under you. Better inter-team communication will lead to more efficient workflows.

Sustainability should be the Primary concern

When it comes to running a business, you can’t afford to make snap decisions. Consider creativity as a tool for growing a business rather than as a free-for-all solution to difficulties. When you prioritize mindful, long-term growth, you learn how to approach problems in a thoughtful way so that the solutions you come up with benefit your company’s future.

Find sources of funding to help your business expand

According to Tech Nation’s findings, more than 40% of enterprises had difficulty obtaining financing. According to Oxford and Cambridge University’s business schools, management and finance are the two most important boosters for a start-scaling up’s up.

You need to acquire funding before your start-up begins to grow so that your business’s software platforms, logistics, etc. are sturdy enough to accommodate the growth. Notably, dilutive funding is expected, and investors can benefit from tax reliefs such as the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), or Venture Capital Trust in order to make you more investible (VCT). Debt, R&D Tax Credits, and Grants are other non-dilutive funding options to explore.

Set yourself up for success by establishing attainable goals

You need to take a step back and look at the big picture. It is possible to increase wealth, stimulate innovation, attract investors, and create jobs by scaling up a business. According to a Nesta study, a 1% increase in UK scale-ups would result in the creation of over 150,000 new employment and an injection of roughly £225 billion into the country’s GDP by the year 2034.

Consider the local market and the opportunities it offers, and work to expand your market share through joint ventures and acquisitions. The most important thing to remember is to define quantifiable goals and milestones that will provide the most value to your new business.

Put together a team that can handle anything

You can’t do it all on your alone, so you need a team to help you grow your business. When it comes to understanding how to expand a firm, having a flexible and scalable management team is necessary.

Remember that the community you build around your business can strengthen your foundation and face the challenges in startup scaleup as a whole. so that you have greater strength and leverage as you grow. The definition of scaling a firm includes having a strong network. Take the time to build a team that can propel you into the future.

So, with all these being said — You may use this “blade phase” to put in place the systems and procedures that will allow your business to grow in the long term. During the blade phase, your company’s basic values, culture, and brand identity are all developed. It’s also where you’ll establish the initial business plan for your product or service when you launch it into the market. In a nutshell, it’s a pivotal moment for any company. So, make sure your essential elements are in place and maintain a cool head during the path of your business.

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